The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order granting bail to Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira in connection with the 2015 NDPS Act case. The apex court dismissed the appeal of the Punjab government against a high court order.
Here's what court said
The bench consisting of Justices Bela M Trivedi and KV Viswanathan stated that they are not inclined to intervene in the order issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 4.
The bench told senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the Punjab government, that while the allegations against Khaira are serious, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, they would not intervene with the high court order.
Khaira, who represents the Bholath assembly constituency, was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in connection with a 2015 drugs case, however, he was subsequently arrested in connection with a new case related to criminal intimidation.
Congress MLA was arrested in 2015 case
Punjab Police had initially arrested Khaira from his Chandigarh residence in September last year in connection with an eight-year-old case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, leading to allegations of political vendetta against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state from the Congress.
He had been seeking bail after his alleged involvement in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act came to light during investigations conducted by a special investigation team.
The drugs case was registered in March 2015 in Jalalabad, Fazilka. Nine individuals, including Gurdev Singh, purportedly a close associate of Khaira, were implicated in connection with the case and subsequently convicted.
The police had seized two kg of heroin, 24 gold biscuits, a country-made pistol, a .315-bore pistol and two Pakistani SIM cards from them.
Earlier on January 15, a court in Kapurthala granted bail to Congress MLA Khaira in the criminal intimidation case.
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